All right, just one more dealer.

I had to be home around 7AM Monday morning. I had my roommate’s car, and he needed it to drive to leave the apartment around 8AM to drive to work. It was a little before 8PM when I busted out of the tourny, so I decided I’d play a little more $1/$2 NL. I got the table wedged in the corner behind the podium on the high side. Grabbed the three seat, wedged between the table and the wall. Bought in for $200.

Table was short for a minute. Like five or six handed. I looked up, guy on my left says “Hey, not you again.” Same guy was sitting at my other table earlier today. I busted him out of that game. He limped, I raised, someone else saw the flop. It was A68, two little clubs. Guy bet like $20 into $25. I raised it up to $55. Dude thought forever. Finally went all-in for his last $17 on top. I said “You’re either a really good actor or I’m way the fuck ahead. I call.” He turned up AJo, no club draw. Turn rolled off non-club Q, I turned my AKo and said “come on dealer, give him a Jack!” Ten on the river, he’s busted.

Two other guys at the table were confused. “Why were you asking for a Jack, if he hits the Jack, he wins.” I ask them how they do not know about this way of toying with the poker gods. “Ask for a card, it rarely comes. Plead for a card to not come, it’s sure to show up.”

Hardly relevant. So now this guy is on my left. I know he’s not happy about busting out of the other table. He’s got a few chips at this one, though.

(At the new table) Couple people limp to his bb, he takes it straight up to $20. One player calls, as do I from the button. Flop is Tc7c2x. He fires out $50. Folds to me. I double check my cards, and ship it. Little do I know, it’s only about a $100 raise into a $160 pot. Dude is bitter and tilting, turns up AQo, don’t think he even had a club in his hand. Tells me I didn’t have the ten. I said “AQ? I thought I was bluffing when I moved all-in.”

Not long after that hand, guy can’t take it anymore (or gets busted, can’t remember which, and he’s gone.

This one kid, sitting in the eight, was killing me. He made A6 two pair on the turn against my AK top pair on the flop and I gave him way to many chips that hand. Not more than $100, but still way too many. There was a girl in the one seat that I had been chatting with and I asked the time. She told me it was 9:30. I said “That kid’s got about $340 in front of him right now. I’ll bet you $1 that he’s down below $100 in an hour.” Deal. For the next hour we really got to notice how many pots this kid entered. Easily 80% if limped and atleast 50% if raised. Table next to us had broken, and moved to ours to fill up all the seats. One of the new guys two to my left heard about our little bet, and he chimed in about how many hands the kid was playing.

Every time the kid entered a pot I said “I’ve got a chance.” Every time he folded the girl would be winning.

It was 10:29, and the kid had just over $150 in front of him. She tells me “last chance.” I look down at AQo. Crap, a real hand. I raise, kid calls, as does “my buddy.” (Tell you about my buddy in a minute). Flop is yack high, two clubs. Check, check to me. I check. Turn, Ac. I’m positive neither has a frush at this point. Kid checks, buddy bets $12 into $25, I raise it up to $30. Kid cold-calls the $30, buddy folds. River, fourth club, and it’s a queen. Kid checks. I say something to the tune of “If you’re gonna chase your flush you might as well bet it when you hit! I can’t beat ya.” I turn up AQ, top two. He’s got KcQx. I’m glad the ten didn’t come on the river, I might’ve paid him. He takes the pot, I give the girl her winnings ($1).

Now, about my buddy…

Early in the session, there was a raised pot, he was 2nd to act, bet $26 into $30 or so on a 8c7h4h flop. I raised to $76. Gets back to him, he asks how much I have left. I say “not enough to fold. Like $30 more.” He puts me all-in. I call. He asks if I got anything. I turn up the 8h. I say “Flush draw.” Turn is some sort of heart. Now I hope HE doesn’t have the flush draw. River pairs the board. I push my 8h over to reveal my 8s, flopped top set. “And a boat draw.”

Several hands later, he raises pf. I call from the sb, as does a limper. K62r, check, check to him, he bets $30 into about $35/$40. I call. Limper folds.

Turn, six. I say “I’m such a donkey, I play so bad. $75.” He again asks me how much I have left. “$80.” He says, “OK, all-in.” I call. He later tells me he had KQ. I turned up 9c6c for trips, take down the pot.

This guy is not liking me.

The kid with the chip drip problem is in the sb one hand. Two new players have joined the table. There’s some limping. I raise. About four or five of us see the flop of 862r. Check from sb, huge $5 bet from one of the new guys on my right. I look at his bet, and the pot, and call. Guy behind me calls, chipdrip c/r to $20 more. We all call.

Turn 862 9, two spades. Chipdrip leads out $20 into what is now ATLEAST a $132 pot. New guy just calls. I figure what the hell, everyone else is doing it, I call, too. Guy behind me calls.

River 862 9 7, no frush. Chip drip fires three greens into the pot. Nice of him to wait until he was beat to make a big bet. New guy goes all-in for like $12 on top. I don’t hesitate very long, min-raise to one nifty. Chipdrip looks at the board for what seems like the first time, and says “Crap, didn’t see that there was 6789 out there. Shows 99… overpair on the flop, TOP SET on the turn. Tosses ’em in the muck. New guy had 98 top two. Through all the relatively small betting, my lucky donkey ass somehow got there with ATo. Nice pot.

Not ten minutes after I take down the huge ATo pot, my buddy raises to $15 and gets four callers. Flop is 8c7c7h. He checks, another check or two to me, I bet $35 into $75. Buddy check-raises me $50 more. Aroo? I grab $125, raise him another $75. He just calls.

Turn 8c7c7h 5c. Pot is now $395. He’s got around $225-$250 in front of him, I’ve got him covered and then some. After all that action on the flop, he checks the turn. I ask him what he’s got left (when I already know). I say “one nifty.” He goes all-in. I guess he thought I was on a stone-cold bluff, ’cause on the turn… when there’s $695 in there plus his $75-$100 raise… are there ANY two cards I can fold?

I ask him “you got eights full? If not, you’re gonna need a lot of help.” I turn up 8d7c, flopped boat, bet the shit out of it, and got paid. River another five. He later tells me he had big cards, drawing dead.

After that hand I decide I’m either gonna play until the zero hour, or until this kid quits. Then I’m gonna make the drive home. It took me a good five or eight hands to stack up that pot. In the middle of it, there’s a raise in front of me, I call, as does the uber tight (and rather observant) guy two to my left.

Flop is 9d5d2c. Check check to tight guy, he bets $15. Folds to me, I raise it up to $50. Tight guy calls. Crap. Turn, Ace of black. I’m pretty sure he didn’t flop a set, but he’s got a good $300 in front of him. I bet $70 into ~$130. He… calls. Ok, no set, or he’s really crazy…

River, six of non-diamond. He seems to like this card, I have no idea where I’m at, I check the $270 pot to him. He says, “All in.”

“Are you serious? Did you flop a set dude? You want it that bad, you can have it.” I turn up my AdQd, toss it in the muck. He shows. Ugh… 66, without the six of diamonds in his hand. He rivered a one-outer on me. Some could argue that he had the best hand on the flop with his pair, but he really didn’t. 15 cards improve my hand with two to come.

Boo.

Not long after that, our table breaks, and I get moved to the same table I was playing Friday into Saturday. I recognize two elder jokers that are real fun to have at the table. Stacks are for the most part rather short, except for one or two players that have over $400. I sit with just under $1K and they’re sick.

Nothing too exciting happened at this table, I was just biding my time before I had to go home, trying to figure out why I wasn’t happy enough with the $1K I had in front of me.

Gets to be late at night, and I start to like all the dealers. It’s 2:30/3:00 AM, and I’ve got to go, and soon.

Carmen rolls up to my table to deal. One of my favorites. I resign that I will quit after he leaves the table.

Cashed out with just under $1200 and headed back to DC with $3K in my pocket and $600 waiting for me in the apartment as (incaseshit money.) You don’t know about incaseshit money? I think it’s derived from a Chris Rock skit. You keep it around In case shit happens.